:00:00. > :00:14.The programme that fights for your rights.
:00:15. > :00:21.If you have been scammed or Dell at a raw deal, we are on your side,
:00:22. > :00:23.exposing the truth and tracking down the ropes. We will not take no for
:00:24. > :00:32.an answer. But not all their
:00:33. > :00:40.customers are impressed. Overall, it is just
:00:41. > :00:46.a complete nightmare. The holiday booking sites
:00:47. > :00:48.which don't always deliver You think you're going to be getting
:00:49. > :00:56.a level of service which is actually going to support you,
:00:57. > :01:00.rather than cause more issues. And why is a property company
:01:01. > :01:03.charging the earth for land First tonight, Rachel's been
:01:04. > :01:19.speaking to unhappy customers of one of Wales's best-known car
:01:20. > :01:23.dealerships, based right You couldn't really
:01:24. > :01:38.escape the advertising. It looked like a good
:01:39. > :01:46.company to go for. They're based at this huge
:01:47. > :01:50.complex at Neath Abbey, with a part exchange
:01:51. > :01:53.outlet at Merthyr. And they certainly
:01:54. > :01:57.have a reputation. There are lots of happy
:01:58. > :01:59.customers on the website, Some of them are from
:02:00. > :02:07.independent review sites. Take a look at these,
:02:08. > :02:11.from sites like Trustpilot. 87% of customers gave
:02:12. > :02:20.them four or five stars. Can this really be the company
:02:21. > :02:23.we investigated three years ago? Back then, customers complained
:02:24. > :02:26.to us about their expensive extended He turned around and said
:02:27. > :02:33.that the warranty is the best thing It covers absolutely
:02:34. > :02:36.everything on the car apart We went undercover to see
:02:37. > :02:46.what they would tell us. The only thing it doesn't cover
:02:47. > :02:51.is tyres and that kind of stuff. There will lots of exclusions
:02:52. > :03:00.in the small print, seized calipers, internal or external oil seals,
:03:01. > :03:02.cracked and blocked heads, window regulator cables,
:03:03. > :03:04.water ingress, exhaust system, rubber hoses, failures caused
:03:05. > :03:06.by the build-up of carbon deposits, The company said that
:03:07. > :03:13.if we actually bought a car, we'd have been given the details
:03:14. > :03:17.by compliance manager. And now, it would seem
:03:18. > :03:22.the customers love them. But we've been hearing from a few
:03:23. > :03:28.that aren't so keen. Darren Dorricott from Pontypool
:03:29. > :03:31.bought his Peugeot hatchback from the company's
:03:32. > :03:33.Merthyr branch last June. I could hear a knocking
:03:34. > :03:42.from the passenger side of the front wheel which didn't sound right,
:03:43. > :03:44.so it started ringing alarm bells The car had passed an MOT the day
:03:45. > :03:55.before he bought it. But Darren was worried,
:03:56. > :03:57.so he had it retested less An MOT report, it was an actual
:03:58. > :04:03.failure of the MOT. As the car stands, it
:04:04. > :04:06.would not pass an MOT. Trade Centre Wales say
:04:07. > :04:08.that the fault occurred They fixed it and other faults
:04:09. > :04:16.highlighted by the second MOT. But just weeks later,
:04:17. > :04:19.warning lights started coming up on the dashboard and he had
:04:20. > :04:24.problems starting the car. The company eventually agreed to pay
:04:25. > :04:27.for an independent Peugeot garage They sent the report
:04:28. > :04:35.to Trade Centre Wales. I phoned them up and they said
:04:36. > :04:39.we have had the report back from the Peugeot garage
:04:40. > :04:41.and it contains two items which we are going to
:04:42. > :04:45.get repaired for you. In fact, the Peugeot garage had
:04:46. > :04:50.found three more items needing urgent attention which Darren says
:04:51. > :04:54.Trade Centre Wales didn't mention. So I said, OK, so what
:04:55. > :04:56.about the heat shield? And they said, no, that wasn't
:04:57. > :05:04.picked up as an issue. And I full well know it was,
:05:05. > :05:07.because it was in black and white The car had failed an MOT just
:05:08. > :05:15.weeks after he bought it. Now he says he was being misled
:05:16. > :05:19.about the repairs it needed. Although they fixed the problems,
:05:20. > :05:24.Darren wasn't impressed. Overall, a complete nightmare
:05:25. > :05:30.of customer service and I would I wouldn't recommend my worst enemy
:05:31. > :05:39.to go and buy a car from them. When Allan Smith from Crickhowell
:05:40. > :05:43.needed a new runaround, He thought Trade Centre Wales
:05:44. > :05:46.would have the car for him. I thought it sounded OK,
:05:47. > :05:55.so I headed down there. But just weeks later,
:05:56. > :05:58.he said an independent garage told him the car had
:05:59. > :06:03.serious rust problems. He took the car back
:06:04. > :06:07.to Trade Centre Wales, but they said there was only surface
:06:08. > :06:10.corrosion, so Alan turned They arranged for somebody to come
:06:11. > :06:19.and do an independent inspection. And that report found that the rust
:06:20. > :06:22.on the fuel tank was so bad, there was an immediate
:06:23. > :06:26.risk of fuel leak. They gave Alan his money
:06:27. > :06:29.back and compensation Trade Centre Wales had picked
:06:30. > :06:39.a fight with the wrong guy. I made a Facebook page and group
:06:40. > :06:48.called Nightmare With Trade Centre I had quite a lot of traffic, quite
:06:49. > :06:55.a few people with horror stories. But Trade Centre Wales
:06:56. > :07:00.were not happy. Eventually I got a letter
:07:01. > :07:05.from the company's legal department, which was a solicitor down
:07:06. > :07:08.in Cardiff, that was threatening to take me to court
:07:09. > :07:10.if I didn't issue an apology. Because they are a big company
:07:11. > :07:19.and I am just a small, poor man. I felt they were trying to bully me
:07:20. > :07:23.into taking down my Facebook page. Six months on, and Allan's page
:07:24. > :07:25.is still up. And he hasn't forgotten how he feels
:07:26. > :07:28.he was treated. It's the worst customer service
:07:29. > :07:32.I've ever experienced. Well, some very unhappy
:07:33. > :07:37.customers there. So, what are Trade
:07:38. > :07:46.Centre Wales saying? Well, they paint a very
:07:47. > :07:47.different picture. They tell us they have high
:07:48. > :07:50.standards of after-care service and have thousands of happy
:07:51. > :07:52.customers every year. In January alone, they say they sold
:07:53. > :07:55.1,200 second-hand cars, so they are bound to
:07:56. > :07:57.have a few problems. Which is understandable,
:07:58. > :08:00.but some people seem very upset They do, the people we have spoken
:08:01. > :08:08.to say they have to keep taking their cars back again
:08:09. > :08:11.and again to get them and they also say they found the after-sales staff
:08:12. > :08:13.very difficult to deal with. They say of the six cases we told
:08:14. > :08:19.them about, they got the faults fixed quickly and treat those
:08:20. > :08:24.customers with respect and sympathy. Well, if you remember,
:08:25. > :08:31.he believes he wasn't put fully in the picture about faults
:08:32. > :08:34.that were identified Now Trade Centre Wales, again,
:08:35. > :08:41.deny this and say they think he failed to mention one
:08:42. > :08:43.of the matters was actually Well, it's an interesting one this,
:08:44. > :08:52.because Trade Centre Wales did fail to spot that severe corrosion
:08:53. > :08:54.on the fuel tank. But otherwise, the Independent
:08:55. > :08:56.report said the car So they are saying they are
:08:57. > :09:03.satisfied with the level Allan, though, clearly is not,
:09:04. > :09:07.which is why he set up Now the company say they were acting
:09:08. > :09:11.perfectly properly in asking him to take down that which they
:09:12. > :09:14.considered untrue and defamatory. And later in the programme,
:09:15. > :09:19.Rhod will have the lowdown on what to look out for when you're
:09:20. > :09:22.shopping a second-hand car. And remember, if there's anything
:09:23. > :09:25.you'd like us to look into, The number to call is 03703 334334,
:09:26. > :09:36.or you can e-mail x-ray@bbc.co.uk. Still to come tonight:
:09:37. > :09:40.Fighting for a fair price. The residents who feel
:09:41. > :09:44.they are being ripped off. I only paid 14,000 for the house
:09:45. > :09:52.when I bought it! Now, if you're booking a special
:09:53. > :09:55.holiday, you may well arrange it But what if you don't get
:09:56. > :10:05.the dream trip you expecting? Last year, one in four
:10:06. > :10:08.of us booked holidays You can just enter where you want
:10:09. > :10:19.to go and when you hit search, there are loads of options
:10:20. > :10:26.to choose from. Whether you go for a week
:10:27. > :10:31.in the sun, fun on the ski slopes or a stylish city break,
:10:32. > :10:34.you'd hope your trip would go But if things go wrong and you don't
:10:35. > :10:42.get the holiday you set your heart One of the biggest travel
:10:43. > :10:52.sites is booking.com. Planet Earth's number
:10:53. > :10:58.one accommodation site. Seasoned travellers Pat
:10:59. > :11:00.and Sue O'Reilly from Llandysul in Ceredigion decided
:11:01. > :11:04.to give it a whirl. So, how important is it that
:11:05. > :11:07.you love of the outdoors We go on holiday so that we can go
:11:08. > :11:15.outside and see different things. We learn what we can photograph,
:11:16. > :11:18.what we can film and share One of their favourite spots
:11:19. > :11:24.is Yellowstone National Famous for its lakes, mountains,
:11:25. > :11:36.grizzly bears and geysers. It's where the centre of the earth
:11:37. > :11:41.bursts through the surface. They planned to visit again
:11:42. > :11:44.last summer and Sue booked hotels The couple received booking
:11:45. > :11:50.confirmations for all their hotels, so they were confident
:11:51. > :11:53.everything would run smoothly. Then when we got there,
:11:54. > :12:00.they had no record of the booking. We had nowhere else to go and as far
:12:01. > :12:03.as we knew, we did Thankfully, the hotel
:12:04. > :12:10.did have a spare room. The next day, Sue and Pat continued
:12:11. > :12:14.their journey to Yellowstone. Another 500 mile drive to get
:12:15. > :12:18.there and we had a whole week's booking in this hotel
:12:19. > :12:21.for which they had no record. It was worrying, because,
:12:22. > :12:22.you know, you think, But this time, the hotel was full
:12:23. > :12:33.and it was a peak holiday season. After many calls, Pat and Sue
:12:34. > :12:37.found a place to stay, but it was further away, had no
:12:38. > :12:42.restaurant and cost more money. It makes you wonder what the purpose
:12:43. > :12:48.of a confirmation is. The experience cast a shadow over
:12:49. > :12:51.Pat and Sue's special holiday. They've complained
:12:52. > :12:54.twice to booking.com, Let us see what consumer law expert
:12:55. > :13:00.Professor Margaret Griffiths makes So, who is responsible here,
:13:01. > :13:02.Margaret? Well, it does look as if it is
:13:03. > :13:06.the booking process that has gone wrong, rather than a problem
:13:07. > :13:09.at the hotel, and because it is in the booking process, then
:13:10. > :13:11.booking.com are responsible for it. They've had to go to a more
:13:12. > :13:14.expensive hotel than the one they thought they'd booked,
:13:15. > :13:17.and that is a financial cost them, so it will be perfectly reasonable
:13:18. > :13:20.to expect booking.com to refund the price difference,
:13:21. > :13:25.plus any obvious consequential loss they suffered for having to go
:13:26. > :13:32.off-site for their meals. Another couple who had bother
:13:33. > :13:36.with the booking site are newlyweds Paul and Damien
:13:37. > :13:40.Bridgeman from Barry. I promised Damien I'd take him
:13:41. > :13:45.to New York when we first met. After planning a hectic wedding,
:13:46. > :13:48.the honeymoon was going to be some time to relax, chill out and have
:13:49. > :13:57.some magical time for ourselves. Paul chose to arrange the trip
:13:58. > :14:01.through booking site Expedia. He made it clear that
:14:02. > :14:04.because Damien has cerebral palsy, Their booking documents confirmed
:14:05. > :14:13.this and the couple jetted off to New York confident that
:14:14. > :14:17.everything was in hand. But when the couple arrived
:14:18. > :14:21.in New York, the couple feared that it might not just be
:14:22. > :14:24.the city that never sleeps, The room was not accessible
:14:25. > :14:35.in any way, shape or form. There was a walk-in shower
:14:36. > :14:38.but there was no bath chair and Damien's chair tends
:14:39. > :14:40.to spark in water. The bed was just unsuitable and,
:14:41. > :14:43.when I was putting Damien to bed, the hoist tipped so he could
:14:44. > :14:47.have easily been hurt. Expedia hadn't told the hotel
:14:48. > :14:52.about Damien's needs. You think you're going to be getting
:14:53. > :14:56.a level of service which is actually going to support you rather
:14:57. > :14:59.than cause more issues. Paul and Damien hoped
:15:00. > :15:03.their honeymoon would improve But, yet again, they didn't get
:15:04. > :15:13.the accessible room they had booked. I expect to get what I ask
:15:14. > :15:17.for and if the company can't provide Paul and Damien did everything
:15:18. > :15:22.they should have done. They have checked the booking
:15:23. > :15:24.confirmation, they made their requirements clear upfront
:15:25. > :15:26.and you really are left wondering whether in practice you wouldn't
:15:27. > :15:29.just be better off booking the hotel direct so you have the peace of mind
:15:30. > :15:32.that the people actually providing the service definitely
:15:33. > :15:35.know what you need. And, incredibly, when they
:15:36. > :15:39.complained, Expedia gave Paul So using a booking site may not
:15:40. > :15:46.guarantee you a great holiday. And it's definitely worth checking
:15:47. > :15:52.out those terms and conditions. You need to know exactly
:15:53. > :15:54.what your rights and remedies And never forget, if it's
:15:55. > :16:00.worth more than ?100, pay with your credit card
:16:01. > :16:02.because then if you can't get satisfaction from the company
:16:03. > :16:05.concerned you can go back to the credit card company and ask
:16:06. > :16:10.them to intervene on your behalf. So what have the
:16:11. > :16:21.companies had to say? Well, Booking.com have apologised
:16:22. > :16:25.to Pat and Sue for the standard They blame a glitch
:16:26. > :16:30.in their computer system for the hotel rooms not
:16:31. > :16:33.being booked, so the couple will be Expedia have also apologised
:16:34. > :16:41.and admit they made errors in Paul They're reviewing their processes
:16:42. > :16:47.to prevent this happening again and they've now offered them a full
:16:48. > :16:52.refund for the hotel rooms - ?1,800, and given them
:16:53. > :16:56.compensation of ?200, so that's a total of ?2,000,
:16:57. > :17:04.which is a great result. Now, earlier we were hearing
:17:05. > :17:09.about problems with second hand cars and it's the issue Trading Standards
:17:10. > :17:13.gets most complaints about. Rhod's been finding out how
:17:14. > :17:16.to boost your chances of getting Many of us fall head over heels
:17:17. > :17:27.when we find the car of our dreams. But if you let your heart
:17:28. > :17:30.rule your head, what you thought was your dream motor could turn
:17:31. > :17:36.out to be a nightmare. And that's why I've gone
:17:37. > :17:39.all Frank Butcher on you today. Welcome to the forecourt
:17:40. > :17:43.of Rhod's runabouts - the used car-dealer
:17:44. > :17:46.with a difference. I'm not after your money,
:17:47. > :17:50.I'm dishing out advice on how Lesley Nicholls from Bridgend hasn't
:17:51. > :18:00.had much luck with cars. She needed one to take granddaughter
:18:01. > :18:04.Megan to school and splashed out But a few months after buying
:18:05. > :18:12.it, problems set in. Every time I stopped at a junction,
:18:13. > :18:16.it was as though the clutch had no I'd get to a red light
:18:17. > :18:20.and try to pull away I'd have to end up putting
:18:21. > :18:25.the hazard lights on with people Her garage agreed to swap it
:18:26. > :18:33.for a Vauxhall Astra and Lesley didn't think to make
:18:34. > :18:35.any further checks. I could hear this terrible noise
:18:36. > :18:41.coming from the car as if something Lesley's gears collapsed,
:18:42. > :18:50.wrecking her gearbox, But things could have
:18:51. > :18:54.been different. A quick check of the new government
:18:55. > :18:58.MOT website shows the history And whilst it had an MOT,
:18:59. > :19:04.it also had lots of advisory notes. A good indicator that trouble's
:19:05. > :19:08.just around the corner. We've got a brake fault
:19:09. > :19:12.on the rear brakes. They're both imbalanced
:19:13. > :19:14.and fluctuating. We have corrosion on the subframe
:19:15. > :19:18.and we've got a gearbox fault I think what's confusing
:19:19. > :19:25.is when she got the car it came with a 12 month MOT and she thought
:19:26. > :19:28.with that she was safe. Yeah, and that's the general
:19:29. > :19:31.misconception of the public. That because it's got a new MOT,
:19:32. > :19:33.all's good with the vehicle, When you're buying a car,
:19:34. > :19:38.it's always wise to take The AA and the RAC offer car
:19:39. > :19:44.inspections for as little as ?99. But there are plenty of things
:19:45. > :19:47.you can check yourself too. First up, ask to see
:19:48. > :19:51.the log book or V5. Here we have the vehicle
:19:52. > :19:55.identification number. On this particular vehicle,
:19:56. > :19:58.we have it here on the windscreen and we also have it there
:19:59. > :20:02.on the underside of the bonnet. Now, if that doesn't
:20:03. > :20:04.match up to the V5 form, you're in trouble, simply because it
:20:05. > :20:08.could be a clone vehicle, a stolen vehicle, it could be
:20:09. > :20:12.a completely different vehicle So if that don't match up,
:20:13. > :20:18.don't go any further. Another good way to see how well
:20:19. > :20:23.the car's been cared You see it's a little bit low on oil
:20:24. > :20:29.and you can also see the oil's So that hasn't been
:20:30. > :20:34.changed in a long while. If you then go to the oil filler
:20:35. > :20:39.cap, you can see there's a lot Alarmingly, the coolant seems very
:20:40. > :20:51.low and that may be indicative of a leak somewhere or, worse,
:20:52. > :20:56.it could be a head gasket fault. It hasn't been serviced
:20:57. > :21:01.so that means money, So always check for
:21:02. > :21:06.a good service history. And another warning sign Gareth
:21:07. > :21:09.says to look out for? Accident-damaged cars returning
:21:10. > :21:12.to the market which have First thing you'll notice
:21:13. > :21:17.is that the paint doesn't match up Someone has re-sprayed this
:21:18. > :21:25.whole area in gold paint, possibly to cover blue
:21:26. > :21:28.panels and the rest of it. But you can see all
:21:29. > :21:30.of the overspray. They haven't done
:21:31. > :21:32.a very tidy job of it. It's a botch job and obviously
:21:33. > :21:35.you can see the misalignment And my pencil goes right
:21:36. > :21:42.in there and that's going That's going to cause
:21:43. > :21:46.all sorts of problems. It's worth paying for an HPI check,
:21:47. > :21:49.which can reveal any serious prangs And never part with any
:21:50. > :21:53.cash until you've done If you do all that, then hopefully
:21:54. > :22:00.you'll steer clear of car catastrophes and you and your motor
:22:01. > :22:09.can enjoy many happy miles together. Next, I've been to a housing estate
:22:10. > :22:15.near Pontypridd where a property company has left residents
:22:16. > :22:23.feeling pretty peeved. The Crown Hill Estate
:22:24. > :22:26.in Llantwit Fardre sprung to life in the 1960s and has always been
:22:27. > :22:32.a popular choice for families. Angela Thomas and her late husband
:22:33. > :22:38.Tony raised their children here. We got married in '69 so,
:22:39. > :22:50.yes, it is very special. Angela's now retired
:22:51. > :22:52.and her mortgage is paid off. But there's one thing
:22:53. > :22:55.still troubling her. Like many others on the estate,
:22:56. > :22:58.she lives in a house that's If you're a leaseholder,
:22:59. > :23:04.you don't own the land What you have bought is the right
:23:05. > :23:09.to live there for the number The landowner has recently
:23:10. > :23:16.changed to a company called Did you think about buying
:23:17. > :23:26.the freehold one day? Yes, I did think about it,
:23:27. > :23:29.but with the mortgage to pay I didn't think about applying for it
:23:30. > :23:33.because it was only ?20 a year. Why would owning the freehold now
:23:34. > :23:36.be important to you? Well, after my days, Lucy,
:23:37. > :23:39.I'd like my children to inherit the house, obviously,
:23:40. > :23:43.and if I don't own the freehold, It can be tricky to secure
:23:44. > :23:51.a mortgage on a house that's got less than 80 years
:23:52. > :23:54.left on its lease. Angela's only had 50 years so,
:23:55. > :23:57.when LPM offered to sell her the freehold, she was
:23:58. > :24:02.eager to snap it up. The first letter that I had
:24:03. > :24:10.was to say it was ?2,195. But before she could take up
:24:11. > :24:13.the offer, LPM wrote again with a new price which
:24:14. > :24:18.was eight times higher. When I first opened the letter,
:24:19. > :24:23.I thought it was ?1,500, but when I looked
:24:24. > :24:28.again it was ?15,996. I can't really believe how
:24:29. > :24:39.they get to that price. I went for a drive around the estate
:24:40. > :24:42.with a chartered surveyor who told me how the value
:24:43. > :24:47.of a freehold is worked out. The value of the house
:24:48. > :24:50.is one major part of it. Also, of course, is the ground rent
:24:51. > :24:53.you pay and also the length of the lease because,
:24:54. > :24:56.as the lease gets towards its end, it becomes more valuable
:24:57. > :24:58.to the landlord and becomes more expensive for tenants
:24:59. > :25:01.to acquire their freehold. What do you believe the value
:25:02. > :25:04.of the freehold of these kinds Really, it's around about ?5,000
:25:05. > :25:09.would seem to be a more general And that tallies with the figure
:25:10. > :25:16.given to Ann Hughes by the surveyor she hired to value
:25:17. > :25:19.her freehold. She wanted to buy it and made LPM
:25:20. > :25:27.an offer but couldn't They came up with the astonishing
:25:28. > :25:33.price of ?27,000, so it had gone up Where are they getting
:25:34. > :25:37.these figures from? How does that make you feel,
:25:38. > :25:42.having all these wildly varying It makes you feel like you might
:25:43. > :25:48.be getting ripped off. All over this estate,
:25:49. > :25:51.furious residents are telling us they just want to buy
:25:52. > :25:55.their freeholds for a fair price. It's certainly a hot
:25:56. > :25:58.topic in the local pub. They are playing with
:25:59. > :26:01.people's lives on this. It's virtually impossible
:26:02. > :26:04.to get hold of them. I only paid ?14,000
:26:05. > :26:13.for the house when I bought it. Feelings are running high and people
:26:14. > :26:18.here don't know where to turn, so I'm off to meet someone I hope
:26:19. > :26:23.can offer them some advice. It must be quite confusing to get
:26:24. > :26:28.such a variety in prices It would be worthwhile and helpful
:26:29. > :26:34.if they could set out for the lessees how they have
:26:35. > :26:36.reached those figures. But with so many families
:26:37. > :26:39.in the same position, does Anthony think they'd be better
:26:40. > :26:41.off working together? I think it goes a long way for one
:26:42. > :26:45.or two lessees to get together on behalf of their neighbours
:26:46. > :26:47.to have a discussion with the freeholders about how
:26:48. > :26:49.they have arrived at the prices If that doesn't succeed,
:26:50. > :26:54.then you're looking at things that That could mean taking their cases
:26:55. > :27:00.to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal. People here hope it
:27:01. > :27:04.won't come to that. Whatever happens though,
:27:05. > :27:08.they're sticking together. We can all get together
:27:09. > :27:12.and try to right this wrong. We are in a better position
:27:13. > :27:16.with strength in numbers taking our case back
:27:17. > :27:18.to the organisation. So, yes, we are going
:27:19. > :27:21.to go for it now. LPM say they're sorry
:27:22. > :27:28.for the confusion over the prices, which they blame on computer
:27:29. > :27:31.problems that still haven't been As for the massive difference
:27:32. > :27:37.between their figures and the ones given by the surveyors we spoke to,
:27:38. > :27:42.LPM say there could be a negotiated settlement, but they're not yet
:27:43. > :27:46.in a position to offer The residents say they're now
:27:47. > :27:53.seeking legal advice as a group Well, that's all we've
:27:54. > :27:58.got time for this week, but if you have a story you'd
:27:59. > :28:01.like us to look into, Next week: He ran away last time
:28:02. > :28:17.we confronted him and Rob the Builder's been up
:28:18. > :28:22.to his old tricks again. He said, don't look up,
:28:23. > :28:24.it's not as bad you think. I looked up, it was
:28:25. > :28:29.a state of carnage.